Practical Excursion
by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio
Summary: Professor Gray takes his students on a practical exercise near the Ruins and, while waiting for them to complete it, muses on some of his students. AV: TLO.


**Practical Excursion  
**_An Aveyond 3-3 fanfic by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio_**  
**

* * *

Sometimes, being spymaster for the kingdom of Thais was really too taxing for a man his age, Professor Gray decided as he surveyed the students before him, a group of misfits as he'd never seen before, which was saying a lot. Most of them still hadn't gotten over the rugged, streetwise look their hard upbringing had etched forever on their faces. And sometimes, they were just naturally tardy... like the princess-that-would-have-been, now just rushing into the Ruins. Still, given her failed wedding day, maybe it would be a kindness to just let her off the hook… this once.

Giving Mel a curt nod, he began, "Students, to become a good spy, you must learn to be observant and strategize well. Today, I want you to use the knowledge you've learned in class to find my journal, which I've hidden somewhere in these Ruins." As he spoke, he eyed each of his students in turn. Most of them perked up at the next words: "The winner of this challenge will get an early look at the questions for next week's test. Are you ready?" With this obviously enticing incentive, they were practically bouncing on their toes when he counted "1... 2... 3... GO!"

Quick as lightning, they sped off around the Ruins, earnest in their investigations. Interestingly, each picked a spot and stuck to it. Gray sighed. The next thing he needed to teach them would be how not to be territorial, especially on group assignments, rare though they might be. Only Mel seemed to have learnt that lesson, seeking instead to go around collecting the treasures around the place. He wondered briefly why she still needed these, since he had heard that she came back from her adventures pretty rich. Hmm... perhaps some habits die hard, and she just couldn't resist seeing if there were useful items hidden in them... again.

"I think I found something!" A voice yelled excitedly. Yes, someone finally found the fake trees he erected there to hide the path to the deeper parts of the ruins. Or should he say, re-erected. Curse that Swordsmaster student who was always wandering off far from Thais just because he liked to show off his skills, coming back full of tales from exploring weird, off-limit places, like that Ice Palace in the Istir Forest, or the extended part of the ruins. Honestly, sometimes he was absolutely baffled with how the younger generation think and act. And there Matt went knocking down those fake trees AGAIN. At least he's observant, even if he's not subtle about his discovery. Or was it Peter? He always confused the two, since they look so like each other they could almost be twins. Gray decided there and then to drop a casual hint in their ears to differentiate their wardrobes.

Speaking of Matt, Gray had high hopes for him for a while, but that went down the drain pretty fast after he discovered that he's been selling his lessons to the younger student spies for a fee! Well, of all the— he was being trained to be a _spy_, not a _trader_, for the love of the Goddess! But he reckoned the blame still lie entirely with the mysterious entity who replaced all the lesson chicks he placed strategically around Thais with normal ones. Thank goodness he had the foresight to leave the extra chicks with his friend Professor Moo, who had the far-sightedness (and humour) to pretend insanity. Moo had certainly heard a lot of things running that hatchery of his, especially with regards to Mel's weird and freakish habit of actually bringing special eggs from across the land and sea to be hatched and reared there. In fact, Gray could almost imagine Moo to actually rejoice at the chance to stretch his rearing skills to something more than cows and goats.

Gray trudged after them as every last one of them ran after Matt/Peter, even Mel, who brought up the rear. It should be interesting to see who would manage to solve the difficult puzzle, as he watched the students stake out their respective locations again. Gray smirked. This secret is going to be difficult to unravel without getting a little... wet. Gray wondered again which civilization actually made use of that room behind the waterfall... but perhaps the geography of the area wasn't quite what it was now compared to 2,000 years ago?

"...Either that or I'm losing it!"

Mel. He was probably never going to understand the girl. After her initial mysterious acceptance into his program, he thought her rather normal for a girl from her backgrounds. She even got along well with Edward, even if she didn't discover his identity (which quite frankly got Gray worried about her espionage abilities) but six months after that, she was suddenly acting like a fugitive on the run again. He was actually mystified by her sudden departure, but having dealt with so many students from her background, he learnt to not ask many questions. At least he had established a wide network of spies, even going so far as to secure the co-operation of some friendly orcs and elves. But honestly, what Mel did with her espionage knowledge was a mystery even to this day. Someday soon, he was going to sit down and have a _long_ chat with that girl.

At least it looked like she'd learnt something of observation, as he watched her roll the boulder down with a determined look on her face. Well, he supposed that was one way to uncover the spot... permanently. Still hiding in the shadows the narrow tree path provided, Gray listened and listened until the tell-tale sound of the waterfall was cut off and deduced that Mel had blocked the water to uncover the hidden entrance.

"Look! Mel has uncovered a hidden cave!" That distinctive voice had to be Jake's. Gray was beginning to get annoyed at the yelling his students were practicing freely. And surely this exercise wasn't supposed to be a group effort? He could practically hear the students' footsteps as they ran from their various location into the new area just discovered. One of these days, so help him Goddess... Shaking his head, he followed them at a more leisurely pace, pausing to observe the boulder in the stream and wondered if he could ever get it out so that he might use the place again for his future batch of students. Deciding that it'd be too much work, he continued on. Gray reached the entrance to the cave just in time to hear Mel yell, "...Ugh... I am going crazy!"

He sighed. Mel really needed to learn discretion. With that kind of volume, anyone within ten miles would be able to hear her. Even her bad day notwithstanding, she really needed to control her temperamental behaviour or she was going to find herself shot dead one of these days. Meanwhile, what was taking his students so long? Surely the cave hadn't expanded since he was last in it? How hard could finding one journal be once they'd uncovered the secret hideout?

"I found it! I win!"

Oh Goddess, it was official. They were the worst spy trainees ever. He could only hope the rest of the students won't grab and fight over the diary (which really was just an empty book, but if they tore out any of the precious paper, someone was going to pay) like common ruffians, and learn to use more stealth instead of brute force like the Swordmasters or sparkly magic tricks like the Mages. Still, he did say whoever found the diary first would be awarded an early view of the exam questions. Next time he needed to put "no shouting" and/or "no poaching" into the rules of the practical exercise. Maybe it would teach them not to stomp all over the place like an elephant stampede when they actually go out on field work.

_- Finis -_


End file.
